At least six people were killed by blasts in Kabul Thursday during Persian New Year celebrations in the Afghan capital, authorities said, in the latest violence to hit the war-torn city.

“Twenty-three were wounded and six people were martyred (killed) in today’s explosions in Kabul,” health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar told AFP, with the interior ministry confirming the toll.

ISIL terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, the SITE monitoring group said.

Police said it was caused by three remote-controlled mines — one placed in the washroom of a mosque, one behind a hospital, and one in an electricity meter.

The blasts were near Kabul University and the Karte Sakhi shrine, where many Afghans gather every year to mark Nawrooz, which is the traditional Persian New Year holiday but considered un-Islamic by Muslim fundamentalists.

“As we celebrate this auspicious day to bind us together our fellow citizens witnessed another devastating day in #Kabul,” President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter.

“We lost peaceful citizens to a coward enemy that knows no bounds.”

Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said a fourth mine was defused near Kabul University, and that authorities were searching for any others that may have been placed in the area.

Source: AFP